CANADA STOCKS-Energy losses lead TSX lower, gold miners limit fall

Reuters Staff

3 Min Read

(Adds analyst comment, updates prices to close)

* TSX ends down 52.38 points, or 0.35 percent, at 14,870.63

* Nine of TSX’s 10 main groups end lower

By Alastair Sharp

TORONTO, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index fell on Tuesday in a broad retreat led by energy stocks as oil prices weakened, while gold miners offset the losses as bullion hit a near three-week high.

Four energy stocks were the heaviest weights on the index and the group lost 1.6 percent overall, as oil prices fell after a recent push above $50 a barrel.

The materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, was the only one of 10 main groups to gain, adding 1.8 percent.

“This is more of a mean reversion behavior in the market, not necessarily a decisive move,” said Sid Mokhtari, director of institutional equity research at CIBC World Markets. “It’s been so far so good in Canada particularly.”

The index closed at a 16-month high on Friday, after rallying about 29 percent since hitting a three-year low in January.

Mokhtari said investors betting on economic growth were broadly moving into industrial, transportation, technology and energy stocks and away from the telecom and consumer sectors.

The day’s most influential gainer was Barrick Gold Corp , which rose 2.2 percent to C$22.57. Sources told Reuters that two Chinese miners had held talks with Barrick about buying a 50 percent stake in its Veladero gold mine in Argentina.

Other gold miners also rose as prices for the precious metal rose to an almost three-week high on Tuesday, lifted by the U.S. dollar’s retreat from multi-month highs and stronger physical demand before India’s late-October festival season.

Shares in BlackBerry Ltd fell 1 percent to C$9.72 after the technology company launched its third Android-based phone, opting to price it cheaper than competing products.

West Fraser Timber Co Ltd surged 12.3 percent to C$44.18 after the lumber company posted strong earnings after the bell on Monday. (Reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by Paul Simao and Richard Chang)